Ryan Patrick Smith is an actor, singer and dancer originally from Houston, Texas. His favorite credits include The Rocky Horror Picture Show (TUTS), Shrek (Mainstreet Theater), Panto:Rapunzel and Zombies (Stages Rep), Avenue Q (Standing Room Only) and Musical of Musicals (TheatreLab Houston), among others. Smith graduated in 2015 from Sam Houston State University with a BFA in Musical Theatre and since has not only created the drag character of Rosetta Stoned, but can be seen “singing and slinging” around town at a piano bar near you, playing the old Hoskins/Raible circuit of The Duplex, Brandy’s Piano Bar and Don’t Tell Mama.
NiteLife Exchange (NLE) asks Ryan PatrickSmith (RPS) Six Questions:
NLE: When did you know that you wanted to move to New York City?
RPS: I think I’ve always known I wanted to try New York City. I started music pretty young, but when I got into theatre around 7th grade I never really saw myself anywhere else. The first time I visited NYC, I was a senior in high school on a choir trip, and that was the end of it. From then on, the goal was to claw my way to New York.
NLE: What were the two most important goals you had in mind when you got here?
RPS: My first goal was to last longer than a year here. I was struggling to make ends meet in Houston, and when I finally took the leap, I moved here with $700 in my pocket. Five years later, I’m still here. I’m hustling my ass off, but I’m happy. My ultimate goal when I moved was to be on Broadway. Now I’d settle for working enough weeks for health insurance.
NLE: Where was your first singing job when you got settled in?
RPS: I was immensely fortunate when I got here. Just a few months after I moved to the city, I got a job as a singing waiter at Ellen’s Stardust Diner. Working there set me up with a whole new group of talented friends, and when it reopens, you can expect to see me there again. Ellen’s will always be my New York home.
NLE: You’re aka is Rosetta Stoned… where is she from?
RPS: Rosetta is a “large-in-charge-built- like-a-barge” woman from the Deep South. A cougar in her head, a dancing hippo in her life, she lurks in the shadows, rarely making an appearance. If you’re lucky, you can catch a glimpse of Rosetta singing around the city’s piano bars. Legend has it, if you put your ear to a Times Square trash can, you can hear her plaintive wail.
NLE: You’ve started popping up behind the bar in several of the piano bars around town; what is your secret?
RPS: There is no secret. My tactic was to wait until everyone was hurting for workers—and make myself available. Who knew a global pandemic was what it took to make a name in NYC.
NLE: What are the two songs we should expect to hear when you go up to the microphone?
RPS: It’s hard to narrow down to two songs, but you can bet you’ll hear Meatloaf’s “I’d Do Anything for Love;” and “Gettin’ Bi” from the TV show, “Crazy Ex Girlfriend.” I love to sing Meatloaf, and it’s long past time the the “B” in LGBTQ got an anthem, so I sing for my people. LOL
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